Instagram Has Started Showing AI-Generated Pictures of Users

Mark Zuckerberg created these images using Meta AI’s ‘Imagine Me’ tool.

AI-generated pictures of people have started appearing in their Instagram feeds and it’s alarming folk.

A Redditor shared a screenshot from a post by Meta AI that appeared in his feed showing an AI version of him in a hall of mirrors. “Used Meta AI to edit a selfie, now Instagram is using my face on ads targeted at me,” writes the Redditor who tells 404 Media that he had previously uploaded selfies of himself to Instagram’s “Imagine Me” feature.

PetaPixel reported in September that Meta was planning to roll out the “Imagined for You” feature which sees AI images of the user appear in their Facebook and Instagram feeds. It’s an expansion of the “Imagine Me” feature which allows users to create AI selfies based on their photos. A Meta spokesperson said that AI images of the user’s face will only appear if they have “onboarded to Meta’s Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature” and accepted its terms.

The picture that appeared on the Redditor’s Instagram had the caption: “Imagine yourself reflecting on life in an endless maze of mirrors where you’re the main focus.” Users can quickly share it or generate a different version. When it was announced, Meta showed off different styles including the user as royalty or as a video game character.

A Meta spokesperson corrected the Redditor’s description of the feature as an “ad” telling CNET that it is instead a new feature that it has begun testing live.

“We test lots of new AI features publicly in limited capacities to see what people find interesting and useful to their experiences across our apps,” says a Meta representative.

“These images can only be generated for users who have onboarded to Meta’s Imagine yourself feature, which includes adding photos to that feature, and (who) have accepted the feature’s terms.”

How to Turn Off the Imagined for You Feature

If you would rather not see an AI version of yourself then tap the three dots on the top-right corner of a post if and when it appears and select “Hide”. You can also select “Stop seeing this content” if you don’t want to see any suggested AI images.